10 Amazing Things About Being Awake With Your Baby At Night

OK, so being awake at 4am with your baby isn’t ideal for your brain power and it probably won’t leave you looking your best the next day BUT there is an upside. From one-on-one bonding time to guilty-pleasure TV sessions on the sofa, here are the reasons why it’s brilliant being awake with your tot in the middle of the night…

Random late night TV

From reruns of Sex and the City to weird but wonderful game shows, post-midnight TV is something you should definitely dip into at one point in your life. And now’s the ideal time.

Everything’s funnier

Your baby’s mid-change fart, that re-run of Absolutely Fabulous… everything’s hilarious in a delirious, middle of the night kind of way.

Plenty of time for bonding

With no one else around (or awake), middle of the night bonding time is pretty special.

Ah-mazing sunrises to watch

OK, this is ever-so-slightly cheesy, but when you’re wide awake at 6am (and slightly delirious) you'll probably welcome a pretty sunrise to gaze at.

From an Old English word meaning 'wealthy guardian'.

Time to make your baby laugh (with no one watching)

Now’s the perfect time to practice your (awful) French accent that makes your baby laugh so much. There are no adults around to tease you about how [insert French accent] terrible it is.

The reality: You love motherhood and can’t get enough of your baby, but you struggle to write a text reply that makes sense, never mind a witty 500-word post. [Corbis]

Hours of Netflix shows at your fingertips

Between nappy changes, mealtimes, running errands and obligatory relative visits, you’re probably not left with much spare time during the day. So use the time between night feeds to devour all of the episodes of House of Cards you’ve missed.

The shopping opportunities are endless

There’s not a huge amount going on at 3am but at least all of the shops are open – online at least. Just don’t tell your partner you raided the joint account when he wakes up… But hey, you snooze, you lose!

As your toddler nears her second birthday, you’ll notice she’ll start doing more things typical of a child – like throwing a ball and running. Mealtimes will become more interactive for her as she begins to use a spoon and a fork. As her language develop

Entering competitions

The web is bursting with competitions offering ah-mazing prizes (ahem like motherandbaby.co.uk’s ‘Win’ section). So why not put your time to good use and win yourself a holiday…

It’s OK to eat anything you want

There’s nothing ‘right’ to snack on at 3am – it’s way past dinner time and too early for brekkie. And seeing as you haven't just got in from a night on the lash, a kebab is probably a no-go. So go ahead and munch on that half empty box of Celebrations or polish off the leftovers from last night’s dinner. Whatever hits the spot, really.

Enter into mum chat on Twitter

OK, so all of your ‘real’ friends may be fast asleep, but there’s thousands of fellow sleep-deprived mums on Twitter that you can swap baby drama stories with at silly o’clock.

Author: Alison Coldridge Alison Coldridge
Job Title: Writer